Thread: Suggestions please for lakes near Chesapeake.

For comparison, I keep fishing stats on everything so I looked up Western Branch and roughly this time in April over the last few years and on April 28, 2012 water temp was 63 and I caught 5 crappie, April 13, 2013 water temp was 68 and I caught 1 crappie, April 18, 2014 water temp was 60 and I caught 6 crappie so I found it tough this time of year as well. Only went out there early April last year, on April 3, with water temp at 55 I caught 2 crappie. I have not gone there this year yet. The good news is that I have done a lot better at Western Branch once the water temp moves up.

Originally Posted by Pa Boat

rig a hoist in my garage

That can handle certain jobs, but if you ever get a chance to acquire one of these,
you'll never regret it! I bought one a few years ago & have used it to swap motors
from boat to boat, remove and install motors, and (this past week) hoist the bow
of my boat far enough off the trailer to replace a broken roller bracket. Yes, there are
other ways to do these things, but it's hard to beat the flexible convenience of rolling
this little crane to the job. With the legs folded up and the boom lowered, storage
doesn't eat up too much floor space. It's a lifetime investment and the pricetag isn't bad
if you wait and watch HF's promotions.

1 Ton Capacity Foldable Shop Crane